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 On the basis of theory, prior research, or a personal observation, pose a

question.
Develop a hypothesis, a specific prediction, that can be tested.
Test the hypothesis. Design and conduct research to gather empirical
evidence (data).
Draw conclusions. Use the evidence to support or refute the hypothesis.
Report the results. Share the data and conclusions, as well as an alternative
explanation.
Built into the scientific methodin questions, hypotheses, tests, and
replication is a passion for possibilities, especially unexpected
ones.

Figure 1.2 You probably know that more than half of all adults in the United
States are overweight, so this chartwith only 21 percent of adults obese
may seem wrong. However, three facts explain why the data are accurate: (1)
Obese is much heavier than overweight; (2) the average adult in this study
was 34 years old (middle-aged and older adults are more often obese); and (3)
one of the studies that provided much of the longitudinal data was in Finland,
where rates of obesity are lower than in the United States.

Red Means Stop. At top, the red areas on this PET scan show abnormally low
metabolic activity and blood flow in a depressed persons brain, in contrast to
the normal brain at bottom. Neuroscience confirms that depression is
biological, not just psychological.
Environmental influences include such things as:
health and diet of the embryo's mother
family
school
community
society

Figure 1.3 The Three Domains - The division of human development into three
domains makes it easier to study, but remember that very few factors belong
exclusively to one domain or another. Development is not piecemeal but
holistic: Each aspect of development is related to all three domains.

Table 1.1 As you will learn, developmentalists are reluctant to specify

chronological ages for any period of development, since time is only one of
many variables that affect each person. However, age is a crucial variable, and
development can be segmented into periods of study. Approximate ages for
each period are given here.

 There is simple growth, radical transformation, improvement, and decline as

well as stability, stages, and continuityday to day, year to year, and
generation to generation

Figure 1.4 Many patterns of developmental growth have been discovered by

careful research. Although linear (or nonlinear) progress seems most common,
scientists now find that almost no aspect of human change follows the linear
pattern exactly.

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 Microsystems (elements of the person's immediate surroundings, such as

family and peer group)
Exosystems (local institutions such as school and church)
Macrosystems (the larger social setting, including cultural values,
economic policies, and political processes)
Chronosystem (literally, time system), which affects the other three
systems

Mesosystem, consisting of the connections among the other systems

Each person is affected by interactions among overlapping systems, which
provide the context of development.
Microsystemsfamily, peer groups, classroom, neighborhood, house of
worshipintimately shape human development.
Surrounding and supporting the microsystems are the exosystems
external networks, such as local educational, medical, employment, and
communications systemsthat influence the microsystems. Influencing
both of these systems is the macrosystem, which includes cultural patterns,
political philosophies, economic policies, and teachers; these elements
coordinate to educate a child. system, the chronosystem, to emphasize the
importance of historical time.

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 Socioeconomic status (SES)

A person's position in society as determined by income, wealth, occupation,
education, and place of residence.
Many religious groups provide food for low-income families.

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Figure 1.7. The Gini index is a measure of income equality, ranging from zero
(everyone equal) to one (one person has all the money). Values here are after
taxes, and they show that the gap between rich and poor is widening in the
United States and Finland but not in other countries. Worldwide, the gap
between the richest people and the poorest is even wider, estimated at about
0.63 in the Gini.

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Culture: A system of shared beliefs, norms, behaviors, and expectations that

persist over time and prescribe social behavior and assumptions.
Vygotsky described the interaction between culture and education.
Many age-related terms, such as childhood, adolescence, yuppie, and
senior citizen, are social constructions.

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Attention for Children Vygotsky lived from 1896 to 1934, when war,
starvation, and revolution led to the deaths of millions. Throughout this political
turmoil, Vygotsky focused on learning. His love of children is suggested by this
portrait: He and his daughter have their arms around each other.

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 Ethnic groups share certain attributes, almost always including ancestral

heritage and usually national origin, religion, and language.
Race is a group of people regarded as distinct from other groups on the
basis of appearance, typically skin color.
Social scientists think race is a misleading concept, as biological differences
are not signified by outward appearance.
In this book, we refer to ethnicity more often than to race, but we use
race or color when the original data are reported that way.

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 See Opposing Perspectives (Using the Word Race) to direct discussion

about this question.

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 Human traits can be molded.

Yet, people maintain a certain durability.

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Plasticity: Human traits can be molded, yet people maintain a certain durability
of identity.

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Figure 1.9 Birth of a NeuroA decade ago, neuroscientists thought that adult
brains lost neurons, with age or alcohol, but never gained them.

Three factors improve predictions

Nature and nurture always interact.

Certain periods of life are sensitive periods.

People are differentially sensitive.

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 Development in the first six years occurs in three stages, each

characterized by sexual pleasure centered on a particular part of the body.
See Table 1.4 for details of each stage.
In addition to being the worlds first psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud was a
prolific writer. His many papers and case histories, primarily descriptions of
his patients symptoms and sexual urges, helped make the psychoanalytic
perspective a dominant force for much of the twentieth century.

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 See Table 1.4 for details of each stage.

Epigenetic Theory
Stresses that genes and biological impulses are powerfully
influenced by the social environment
In his first 30 years, Erikson never fit into a particular local community, since
he frequently changed nations, schools, and professions. Then he met
Joan. In their first five decades of marriage, they raised a family and wrote
several books. If he had published his theory at age 73 (when this
photograph was taken) instead of in his 40s, would he still have described
life as a series of crises?

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Refer to Table 1.5 in text for additional information

An Early Behaviorist, John Watson was an early proponent of learning
theory. His ideas are still influential and controversial today.

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 Refer to Table 1.5 in text for additional information

Process by which a person or animal learns to associate a neutral stimulus
with a meaningful stimulus, gradually reacting to the neutral stimulus with
the same response as to the meaningful one.
A Contemporary of Freud, Ivan Pavlov was a physiologist who received
the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his research on digestive processes. It was this
line of study that led to his discovery of classical conditioning, when his
research on dog saliva led to insights about learning.

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 See Table 1.5 for additional

information.

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See Table 1.6 for additional details about Piagets periods of cognitive
development.

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See Table 1.4 to complete this information.

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 A new experience can be jarring and incomprehensible.

The resulting experience is one of cognitive disequilibrium, an imbalance
that initially creates confusion.
Disequilibrium leads to cognitive growth because it forces people to adapt
their old concepts. Piaget describes two types of adaptation: assimilation
and accommodation.

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 Maslow's hierarchy is like a ladder: Once a person stands firmly on a higher

rung, the lower rungs are no longer needed.
Thus, someone who has arrived at step 4 might devalue safety (step 2) and
be willing to risk personal safety to gain respect.

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Independent variable- the variable that is introduced to see

what effect it has on the dependent variable.

Dependent variable- the variable that may change as a result

of whatever new condition or situation the experimenter adds.

Experimental group- gets a particular treatment (the

independent variable).

Comparison group- (also called a control group) does not get

the treatment.

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 See Table 1.7 for additional information.

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Cross-sectional Research
Groups of people of one age are compared with people of another
age.

Longitudinal Research
Collecting data repeatedly on the same individuals as they age

Cross-sequential Research
Studying several groups of people of different ages (a cross-sectional
approach) and following them over the years (a longitudinal
approach).

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 A correlation is positive if both variables tend to increase together or

decrease together.
A correlation is negative if one variable tends to increase while the other
decreases.
A correlation is zero if no connection is evident.

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 Informed consent- participants must understand the research procedures

and any risks involved.

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